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AREOPAGUS The Areopagus is a rock with an artificially leveled top
which lies to the S.W. of the Acropolis and is not as high. The Council of Elders of the
Areopagus held its sessions there and it was the most ancient political and simultaneously
judiciary body in Athens.
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THE HILL OF PHILOPAPPUS OR HILL OF THE
MUSES On its summit stands the monument of the Roman benefactor of Athens Gaius
Julius Antiochus Philopappus (2nd century A.D.) from which the visitor has a
vantage point offering a magnificent panoramic view of Athens, embracing the plain of
Attica with the Acropolis, Mount Hymettus (Imitos) and the landscape down to the Saronic
Gulf.
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| THE PNYX This lies close to the Avenue of Paul the
Apostle (Leoforos Apostolou Pavlou). It is a spacious, semi-circular terrace, artificially
leveled out of the rockside, with a rostrum for orators. It was the meeting place for the
Assembly of the city of Athens.
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THE ANCIENT AGORA
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Temple of Hephaistos or Thesseion This
has been built upon the low knoll called the Agoraios Kolonos and is the best preserved
ancient temple (5th century B.C.). It was built by the same architect who
designed the temple of Nemesis at Ramnous and the temple of Ares at Acharnai. It is in the
Doric style (peripteral) with an internal frieze in the pronaos and the opisthodomos. Only
the metopes of the eastern and western sides carried ornamental reliefs (the Labors of
Hercules). There were also sculptured representations in the pediments.
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| Area of the Ancient Agora. East
of the temple of Thesseion, spreads the space once occupied by the ancient Agora which was
the center of everyday Athenian life, the seat of administrative bodies and of the Courts
of Law. At its western extremity, below the knoll of the Thesseion, was the Stoa (arcade)
of Dios Elefthereos, the temple of Patroos Apollo, the Council House or Assembly Hall, the
Mitroon (or temple of the Mother of the Gods) where the State archives were kept, the
Tholos where the city elders took their meals, the Peribolos of the Eponymous Heroes and
Military Headquarters. The other three sides of the Agora were bounded by commercial
arcades.
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 The Ancient Agora
Here the wealth and variety of the whole Eastern Agean and beyond poured in at the height
of Athenian power. You could buy spices, honey, olives, oil and slaves from all over
the world. Plato often depicts Socrates engaging the citizens of Athens. Click for
larger image(62k)
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| On the northern side stood the Stoa
of Hermes and the Poikille Stoa. On the eastern side stood the Stoa of Attalus and to the
South were the Messea Stoa and the Notia Stoa. Here, also, stood the ancient Court of Law
known as the Heliaia, the famous fountain of the Nine Spouts ("Enneakrounos")
and the mint where the coins of ancient Athens were struck. The Panathenean Way cut right
across the Agora. In Roman times, the 5th century B.C. temple of Ares was
dismantled from its original site at the village of Acharnai and re-assembled in the midst
of the Agora. The same open space of the Agora was used for building Agrippa’s Odeon
and the Gymnasium. To the S.E. of the Stoa of Attalus, the small public library of
Pantainos was built. Fountains, small shrines and various other buildings were added to
the Agora. In early Byzantine times, the Stoa of the Giants was built. It served
educational purposes and adorned the facade of the Gymnasium. |
| Stoa of Attalua
(Tel: 321.01.85) This was built by Attalus the Second, King of
Pergamos (159-138 B.C.) purely for trading purposes. It was a two-story building with
internal and external rows of pillars which lead into 21 shops on each floor. Fully
restored today, the arcade is being used as a museum with entrances giving on to Thesseion
(Those) Square and Andiron Street. It contains mostly finds from the excavations carried
out in the area of the Agora. Among these are numerous inscriptions, statues, reliefs,
pieces from the temples of Hephaistos and Ares, thousands of vases, coins, bronze
articles, miniatures, etc.
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| Some of the more interesting items
found are the weight and measurement standards, a clay water clock, part of the ballot box
used for the election of city officials in Athens, a bronze shield taken from the defeated
Spartans on the island of Sfaktiria, "ostraka" (sherds) bearing the names of
well known Athenians such as Aristides the Just, Kallixenos and others, as well as an
inscription containing a law passed in 336 B.C. against tyranny. |
Ancient Sparta
click on thumbnail for larger image (62k) |
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